I have been writing a lot about archetypes this week. I have also used the Carolyn Myss Archetype Cards deck in several readings, and I have had many conversations about the ways the archetype cards point to specific behaviours and situations and necessary actions. With any card reading, I have absolute faith that synchronicity will ensure that the correct cards appear in the spread. The person seeking guidance – the querant -- is always granted the messages they most need to hear. For people who are not working every day with synchronicity and its expression, the concepts are not easy to understand. Few of us have had exposure to education in this area, and many of us have heard only myths intended to scare us. When I am offering readings in a visible way at the tearoom I am often approached by curious people. They express both interest and fear: telling me they are scared to hear about deaths or disasters. I tell them that just as a plant grows and blooms and fruits and fades and returns its physical atoms to the earth, so do we: the cycle of life has no part more negative or more positive than any other part. The cards have no power to cause anything to happen. I am fascinated by the way that oracle cards adapt. The same card speaks in different ways in different readings, and sometimes even addresses more than one part of someone’s life in a single spread. Within the last month I have seen the Detective archetype card more than once. It was in the spread of someone who is undergoing health issues. She needs to research treatment options. I have also seen it for a person who is thinking about a job change, as Spirit is suggests the first step towards a new employer is to find out what they have to offer. The Damsel card sometimes shows up for men who are actively working to overcome the programming they underwent as boys in the late twentieth century. Self-discovery which celebrates the ability to access and express their so-called *feminine* side, may also require that they rewrite the concept of romance. This same card offers a very different message to a female querant, who is also encouraged to redefine romance and shift into self-reliance. The Father archetype card appeared in front of a mature man who has been dating a younger woman. The woman wants to start a family, and this card appeared in the *action* position of the spread. He is asked to deliberately make the choice about becoming a father: step up or step away. The same card appeared in another spread. The querant immediately recognized the message. He does not want to be a father-figure in his primary relationship, and has been resisting perceived neediness in his partner. As a result of this withdrawal, she has become insecure and seems more dependent. The card highlights the need to address issues which influence them as a couple . I also saw the Father card in a reading for a solo mother, exhausted and angry about expending her energy being a father. Her mood and life are being shaped by her feelings about her ex-partner. In each case, the card revealed insight into the specific life-situation of the querant. Father Energy was an appropriate focus for all three. The archetype card of the Shape-Shifter draws attention to something everyone does, every day. We have the ability to adapt to the circumstance we are in. How we present ourselves shifts, depending whether we are with our children or with our friends; visiting aging relatives or making a presentation to professional colleagues. We shift our shape to manage how we will be perceived. The Shape-Shifter card shows up for people who are in very specific transition. They are expanding into new dimensions of themselves and their life-path and connecting to new possibilities in life. If they are living the shadow aspect, they are perhaps people-pleasing: trying to be all things to all others. They may be acting impulsively with no regard for how current behaviour might impact the intentions of life-path. They might be resisting accountability for their own future, drifting along, singing Que Sera, Sera. What will be, will be. For such a querant selecting the Shape-Shifter card, sight unseen, indicates the time has come to take responsibility for personal destiny. Whichever card deck is used, the benefits of readings are always individual, and can be profound. They may also be ignored. Personal power and the ability to choose are not impaired in any way. There is a chance to gain insight into life conditions, and nothing, really, to lose.

Jo Leath has been supporting clients through change and growth since the 1980s. For a card reading or other consultation, in person or by Skype click here For a free printable labyrinth click here

Journey Into Alignment

Jo Leath

Wakefield, Quebec. Canada

Jo Leath has been practising Numerology since the early 1980s and since then has studied synchronicity and various ways of accessing Cosmic Wisdom.
In 2008 she added Labyrinths to her practice, and has become a Certified Labyrinth Facilitator with Veriditas: Worldwide Labyrinth Project.